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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/22688284">Gifts: #30</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/Ignisentis/pseuds/Ignisentis'>Ignisentis</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Series:</b></td><td>32 Ways To Say I Love You [30]</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>Marvel Cinematic Universe, The Avengers (Marvel Movies)</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>Artist Steve Rogers, Avengers Family, Avengers Holiday Party, M/M, Tooth-Rotting Fluff</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>Completed</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2020-02-13</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2020-02-13</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-18 03:00:45</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>Teen And Up Audiences</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>No Archive Warnings Apply</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>1</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>1,639</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/22688284</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/Ignisentis/pseuds/Ignisentis</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>It's Holiday Party Time in Avengers Tower, and Steve is incredibly nervous about handing out his gifts.</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>James "Bucky" Barnes/Steve Rogers</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Series:</b></td><td>32 Ways To Say I Love You [30]</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Series URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/series/1602352</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>30</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>167</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>Gifts: #30</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
      <p>[Chanting] ARTIST STEVE! ARTIST STEVE! ARTIST STEVE!</p>
<p>We're almost at the end, dear readers! Only two more entries in the series after today! My, how the time has flown!</p>
<p>I'm on <a href="https://twitter.com/Ardeospina">Twitter</a> if you're so inclined.</p>
    </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <span>“Steve,” Bucky says softly to the man quietly freaking out next to him. “Baby,” he says a little louder, squeezing Steve’s hand. “It’s going to be okay. Better than okay. They’re all going to love them, trust me.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Steve sort of shrugs and goes back to practically vibrating out of his skin. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Listen, I know it’s hard and scary putting yourself out there like this. I mean, they knew you were an artist, but reading it in a book is different than seeing the evidence and </span>
  <em>
    <span>knowing </span>
  </em>
  <span>you’re an artist, but —“</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Oh, god,” Steve chokes out, pulling his hand away from Bucky’s so he can use both of his to cover his face. “I didn’t think about that,” he says, muffled. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Shit. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Steve, hey,” Bucky says gently, moving to stand in front of Steve so he can peel his hands away and look him in the eye. Steve’s eyes are shut tight. “Can you look at me, baby?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Steve shakes his head petulantly, making Bucky snort softly. Steve quirks a smile before going back to panicking. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Please, honey, look at me.” Bucky waits until Steve opens his eyes to continue. “They’re going to </span>
  <em>
    <span>love </span>
  </em>
  <span>the drawings. They’re going to love them because they are, objectively, stunning. But more than that, they’re going to love them because their friend took the time to capture each of them with such care. They’ll love them because you could have drawn </span>
  <em>
    <span>anything, </span>
  </em>
  <span>but you drew </span>
  <em>
    <span>them.</span>
  </em>
  <span> Trust me, Steve, I know a little bit about this. How many times have you drawn me? Hundreds? More?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Steve shrugs. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“And every time you show me a new drawing you’ve made of me, I get butterflies all over. Every time. It makes me feel </span>
  <em>
    <span>seen</span>
  </em>
  <span>, Steve.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Steve’s face goes wonderfully soft at that, and he leans in for a kiss with a whispered, “Buck.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>He’s loose and sweet until the elevator gets to Tony’s floor and they step off to see the place done up in all its holiday glory, Christmas music playing somewhere in the background. Then his shoulders go high and tight again, even though he’s carrying two giant bags of framed drawings. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Well, it was good while it lasted. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Everyone else is already there when they arrive, and a cheer goes up when they catch sight of Steve. He rolls his eyes but smiles, heading for the massive tree so he can set his gift bags down. Bucky’s carrying a smaller bag of gifts, so he grabs the drink Pepper’s holding out to him before he sets his bag under the tree.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>The whole team eats and drinks and makes merry, and it’s fun. It’s really fun, actually. He feels supremely lucky to have these extraordinary people who have welcomed him into their lives, helped him discover the person he wants to be, who have shown him such care. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Bucky can feel tears start welling up in his eyes, and he tries to subtly clear his throat, but of course Steve notices. He tilts his eyebrows up just enough that Bucky can tell he’s trying to ask if he’s okay, so he nods and smiles before tuning back in to the conversations around him. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>When it’s time to open presents, Bucky learns that Avengers tradition is to have one person distribute their gifts then everyone opens them at the same time. Then the next person distributes, etc.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Let Steve go last,” Bucky blurts out.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Steve starts blushing immediately. “Uh, I don’t know if that’s —”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Just trust me,” Bucky interrupts, and the others sort of shrug and it’s decided, just like that.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Steve leans in to hiss in Bucky’s ear, “Bucky, what the hell?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Steve, no one is going to want to pass out their gifts after yours, believe me.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Steve pulls back and sighs heavily, but he doesn’t argue anymore, so Bucky will take that win.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Natasha hops off the couch, heading toward the tree with a “me first, then.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>The gifts range from sentimental to sweet to silly to practical to silly</span>
  <em>
    <span> and </span>
  </em>
  <span>expensive, in Tony’s case. Bucky’s touched by each and every one, and he makes the mistake of saying out loud that this is the most presents he’s ever gotten at Christmas, and then everyone makes these faces at him and Steve like they do sometimes when The Depression comes up in conversation. It’s not really pity, but it’s...something close, like everyone feels bad that they had such rough childhoods and wishes they could do something about it. It’s nice that they all care, but it also, more than anything else, makes him feel the ache of all his missing years.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>When the only gifts left under the tree are Steve’s, Steve groans and gets off the couch. He stops before he gets to the bags and turns around to address everyone.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“I um...well, I hope you like these.” He starts wringing his hands, and he looks over to Bucky. Bucky smiles at him, gives him a thumbs up, then very visibly takes a deep breath. Steve does the same before squaring his shoulders and reaching into his gift bags to pull out the first wrapped frame. Once he’s done distributing the pictures, he sits back down next to Bucky on the couch and very carefully doesn’t look at anyone.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Bucky nods to give the group the go-ahead to open their presents, and as soon as the paper is torn open, people start gasping at what they find inside. Bucky pokes Steve in the ribs, hard, so he looks over at him, which puts Bruce directly in Steve’s field of vision. Bruce, who is staring at the portrait Steve drew of him with such awe and reverence that Bucky’s getting choked up.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Oh,” Steve says so quietly Bucky is the only one who can hear him. He starts looking around the room, and everyone is having a similar reaction to the portrait Steve drew of them. As they should be, in Bucky’s opinion. Steve spent so many hours with his pencil and paper, drawing and re-drawing his teammates and friends until each and every portrait was perfect. He’s been so anxious about actually gifting them, and Bucky is incredibly satisfied to see just how much everyone loves them.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Steve,” Sam asks delicately, “you drew these?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Steve just nods, not trusting himself to speak.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Holy shit, man. Holy </span>
  <em>
    <span>shit.</span>
  </em>
  <span> Thank you,” Sam says with such sincerity that Bucky feels his throat start to tighten up, his eyes start to tear. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“You’re welcome,” Steve says, and then everyone breaks their silence all at once, chiming in with compliments and questions and thanks. Steve looks like he can breathe for the first time in weeks, blushing at all the praise but happy about it, too.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Once the din has faded, Bucky sees Steve frown a little and follows his line of sight to figure out what made him do that. It’s Tony, as it turns out. Ah, shit. The one portrait Steve was most afraid of giving was Tony’s because he drew the man from the waist up, arms crossed over his chest, and rolling his eyes in the incredibly dramatic way that only Tony Stark can. Steve was worried Tony wouldn’t like that or would think Steve was making fun of him.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>The room’s quiet now, everyone looking between Steve and Tony. “Tony?” Pepper asks hesitantly. Tony jolts a little and looks up at Steve, eyes wide and full of tears. Pepper leans over to look at his portrait, and she gasps a little before smiling and biting her lip. She puts her hand on Tony’s shoulder, which makes him blink and surge into action. He tears off the rest of the wrapping paper and gets off the couch without saying a word.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>He goes over to the fireplace and steps up onto the front so he can pull down the painting that hangs above the mantelpiece. He sets it down on the floor and puts Steve’s portrait up instead. The proportions are all wrong, but the sentiment...fuck, the sentiment is exactly right.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Tony, that was a Matisse,” Steve says, voice thick.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“And?” Tony says, turning back to face Steve. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“And...nothing, I guess,” Steve replies, smiling. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“That’s what I thought. Everyone, come look at mine because it is literally the best. Sorry to your portraits, but it’s true.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Everyone gets up and bunches around the fireplace to look at Tony rolling his eyes, and people laugh and coo, and there are lots of hugs for Steve and more compliments, and Bucky just stands by the couch and watches Steve’s family make him happy, a soft smile on his face.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Steve notices Bucky isn’t in the group a few minutes later, and he turns around to see where Bucky’s at. He smiles when he sees Bucky and gives a “come here” gesture with his hand, so Bucky walks over and lets Steve put his arm around him and pull him into the group.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Later, when they’re in bed back at their own apartment, happy from good food, good drinks, and better company, Steve lets out a long, put-upon sigh. “You can say it,” he tells Bucky. “I know you want to.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Say what?” Bucky asks, playing it up.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Steve snorts and rolls over to face him. “You know what. Go ahead. Say it.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Bucky stays on his back, staring up at the ceiling, smiling as he says, “I told you so.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Steve is silent after that, so Bucky turns his head toward him, still grinning. Steve has a mischievous smirk on his face, which never means anything good for Bucky.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Oh, no,” he says, laughing as he scrambles to get off the bed. Steve’s too quick, though, and he grabs Bucky’s wrist, tugging him back down before rolling onto Bucky so he can tickle him and kiss him breathless.</span>
  <br/>
  <br/>
  <br/>
  <br/>
  <br/>
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  <br/>
  <br/>
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